And Now For The Fun Stuff

The last month has been a bit rough. Not only have we been blowing the money cannon on a near-daily basis, there have been a ton of small projects on the go, most of them unfinished. We weathered a drought (hopefully I can use the past tense there) which nearly gave me an ulcer; the year I decide to put extra effort into a vegetable garden, water becomes scarce. Our well kept running dry. Thankfully I installed an irrigation system this year so at least I could do short targeted waterings every three days or so, because otherwise, sayonara investment and fresh veggies.

I have been messing up at work here and there as well. Nothing major – it’s not like I failed to come up with adequate security two weeks before the Olympics or had to deal with thousands of people protesting my political decisions in the streets – but small mistakes that threaten to make me look bad in the long run. Add them up, it’s not looking so great. I have been very distracted. I am now hoping that a brand new month (August) and a vacation means I can turn a new leaf, leave that awful July behind me and restore my reputation.

But now for the fun stuff.

The cottage is nearly done. There’s enough roof on it that it’s dry inside, and the doors and windows are going in as I write this. I hope that by the end of the week, we have some interior walls, and on Monday we are all going up there to put together the kitchen and bathroom. It has come in pretty damn close to on time and on budget, barring some last-minute changes that may or may not have cost us some extra money. I haven’t yet had to call the bank and ask them to raise our credit limit - fingers crossed.

And last week I ignored my bank statements and went to Ikea. I had a whirlwind lunchtime shopping spree and spent $450 on fun but necessary stuff for the cottage – a nice duvet cover, kitchen knickknacks, small storage for Nora’s room, batteries, a garbage can, storage bins, a bench, curtain rod holders, all that stuff. It may not be everyone’s idea of a rockin’ great time but for me, Ikea is my happy place (to hubby’s dismay).

I realize, through the compulsive writing of 857 lists, that there’s a lot that goes into creating a new household, even a casual, temporary one. While life at the cottage should be simple, that doesn’t mean that we don’t also need batteries, a fire extinguisher, a broom, a dustpan, basic food necessities and the jars to store them in, a potato peeler, knives, a frying pan, barbecue lighters, propane tanks, lamp oil, bedding, mattresses, curtains, dog bowls, pens, hair elastics, a coffee thermos, cereal bowls, a soap dish, wall hooks, towels, first aid supplies, toilet paper… you catch my drift. It is a lot, because we are not camping, and we intend to leave all of it up there in the interest of not having to pack everything every Thursday night. Packing = fighting at my house, so all of this is to benefit marital harmony. From curtain rods to paper napkins and a seperate set of toys and things to amuse Nora during the evenings and rainy days, we have to think of it all unless we want to be driving back and for the whole damn time in search of stuff we forgot. Selection is fairly limited in Otter Lake, Quebec.

The goal is to go up there, unpack, put it all in its forever home, and relax.

We got loads of stuff second hand, at the Great Glebe Garage Sale, and from our own jam-packed household. We are breaking down and getting a used couch from kijiji (more like a loveseat, due to space considerations, but when do you ever fit 3 people on a couch anyway?). I’m not sure we’ll have many kitchen chairs but we’ll figure something out. Just means we can’t have any giant dinner parties in the near future unless we have a BYOBAC party (Bring Your Own Booze And Chairs).

And the projects. The projects! There have been a lot of projects. I have (as always) bitten off a bit more than I can chew, but here’s the rundown of my projects:

THE TRUNK

We were wandering down the street at the Great Glebe Garage Sale when from across the road I spied an orange wooden trunk. It is old – very distressed – and the seller was standing there holding up the lid. When I got closer I realized he was actually holding up the trunk since it only had three legs, but I wanted it anyway – the colour and distressing are perfect. We got the trunk for 8 or 10 dollars, I can’t remember. Hubby talked him down for sure, as he always does. It is pretty big, and will be our coffee table. All puzzles and board games and extra blankets and that kind of junk will be stored in it. Trouble was, it only had three legs. I had it in my mind that I would restore the missing leg to match the other three old, distressed ones, even though hubby kept trying to convince me just to get something completely different, to be funny and wacky. Here is my result:

That leg on the front right is the new one I made (Nora was making Styrofoam art on top. The things I let her do in the interest of getting stuff done…). To achieve the proper level of distress, Nora and I rubbed it with rocks! She enjoyed her woodworking experience very much. I had to cut down all of the legs by about 1.5 inches to make it an appropriate coffee-table height, and I had to shore up a few of the others with some extra nails, but I am thrilled with the result. And for 10 bucks!

THE MIRROR

We bought a very ornate gilt picture frame at the Great Glebe Garage Sale. It is very old, and gorgeous, and was a bit more than we’d normally expect to pay at the GGGS (a whole $15) but worth it. We then took it in to have a piece of mirror fit to it, and hubby installed it with his framing experience. It is stunning. It will go in the bathroom right above….

THE BATHROOM VANITY

A long time ago I asked our hippie wood guy “hey, do you have a piece of wood about 3’ long, 2’ wide, live edge, 2” thick?” and he said “yeah no problem! I can get that to you for about $50”. Last week he left on vacation but seemingly forgot to do it, because we got the piece in kind of a panic one night before he left (after having reminded him a week earlier). It is huge. It weighs 150 pounds I’m sure. It was all shaggy and hasn’t dried out yet, it has a big weird curved cut piece one one side and the live edge was sort of less than impressive. Anyway, I cut it to squarish and to size, sanded it, sanded it, fixed up the live edge a bit (removed some shaggy bark) and will sand it some more, and it will be our bathroom vanity. I had thought I would use these Ikea legs under it:

But discovered that they are much too wide, and on second thought they are also too bulky-looking, so I am going for two of these legs at the front, and bolting it to the back wall:

I think it will look nice - simple and a good contrast with the very woody wood - but I’m not sure when I’m going to have time to sand it more, get it finished, then oil or varathane it. Am running out of days. Ah well it has to dry out anyway.

My brother is trying to cut a drain hole in an old enamel farm bowl so we can use it as a sink, but he’s convinced he’s going to mess it up. I think he’s just trying to lower my expectations; he’s actually going to do just fine.

THE KITCHEN COUNTERS

We bought an Ikea kitchen, the ‘Varde’ free-standing jobbie that I have always wanted in my house but could never ever have. We got the two big pieces as part of the ‘kitchen event’, and then when they were offering them at 15% off 42 days later we went in and got a further discount. The countertops are the basic cheapie ‘Lagen’ ones thank god, because I have had to cut them and couldn’t handle the pressure if they’d been more expensive. It took me forever to do these cuts, mostly because when I first tried I was sick and every time I’d start I’d get the sweats and have to stop again. We’ve had to shift gears and switch the sink and the stovetop locations because of the width of our stove, but I haven’t cut holes yet, plumbing and propane haven't yet been installed, so it’s still ok. All is well. I am thinking of sweet-talking Ben (the builder) into doing the cuts for me. The kitchen is rather large vis-à-vis the space so plans for a breakfast bar are on hold for the time being. I have to see what I’m working with first.

TOP SECRET NON-COTTAGE-RELATED PROJECT

OK not so top secret, I’m making Nora a play kitchen for her birthday. It’s in 3 weeks – and we plan to spend nearly two of those weeks up at the cottage where I am unable to work on this project. I am officially unprepared.

We have more projects in mind, for future years. The loft is going to need railings and some kind of stair system. We are going to make our own shower stall. We may, when Nora gets older, somehow build bunk beds in her room. I may still build the aforementioned breakfast bar, and the cottage will need flooring at some point. I will need to make curtains (or ha ha who am I kidding, it's a sewing project, meaning I will very much  intend to make curtains but my mom will end up doing it) and have become, in my temporary insanity, obsessed with this seemingly-unobtainable fabric:

for our room      

for Nora's room

This year, aside from making the screens for the screen porch, we are going to take it easy with fun smaller projects and landscaping (and that maybe in fall, or rainy days). It is a work in progress.

So these days are busy but as the projects wind down and the cottage gets done, the fun level increases.